Ireland

 This past weekend has been one of my favorites while studying abroad. We took a three day trip up to Ireland and it was such a cool experience. We took off right after class on thursday and took so many different modes of transportations. Within one day we took a shuttle, plane, taxi, bus, and train. Our flight took off from the Luton airport and landed in Dublin. From there we got on a train and rode the width of the country to the west coast. Our final destination was Galway. It was beautiful! There were cows, sheep, and horses everywhere, it was fantastic. I'm not gonna lie, I was feeling a little bit clausterphobic being in London because it was so much city around me so it was really nice to go to a place where you look for miles in every direction. We stayed at a bed and breakfast two miles outside of the town center that was owned by a great Irish couple. They were so nice to us, at one point we were standing in the rain waiting for the bus and Dez (the husband) saw us and felt sorry for us and drove us into to town. We spent a lot of our time on Quay (pronounced "key") street, pictured above. It was a lot of fun, there were a lot of pubs and stores to explore. The street was lined with musicians playing a variety of instruments. We learned later that Galway is the place for musicians in Ireland.

The Cliffs of Moher

Friday morning we woke up and went on a bus tour through the countryside. The highlight of the tour were the Cliffs of Moher. (where they filmed the Cliffs of Insanity scene in Princess Bride).  Being there was one of the coolest things I have ever done. They continued on forever and I just wanted to stay there for hours walking along the edge of the cliff. Every step I took changed the way that they looked. It was awe inspiring to feel like you were standing at the end of the world. I loved it!

Saturday morning we got back on the train and headed back to London. It was a successful weekend! I loved having the chance to go to Ireland.

Fires, Skype, and Such

I have some pictures and stuff that I want to show. I don't have much to say, this past weekend the exhaustion hit and I haven't done much. I relaxed a lot but it was a good kind of relaxing where I'm getting ready to enjoy everything I can. Today I went to class where my teachers once again taught a lesson that really impacted me, it was great! then we went and bought The Amazing Spider-man Tickets that we went to tonight. From there I went to H&M looking for a rain jacket, I didn't find one, but I did find a cute shirt that I'm excited to wear :) When I got home I finished Life of Pi, something that I am proud of. I spent the remainder of the afternoon on Skype with Cameron :) it was awesome.  

They put up the Olympic rings on the Tower Bridge a month before the Opening Ceremonies. I wanted to see them so bad, so I talked my friends into walking over there with me.  

This is one of my favorite pictures. I took it while sitting on the steps of St. Paul's Cathedral. It was a little bit cold and rainy but I didn't mind because the view was worth it. 

This past week was a bad week for fires in Utah. Last friday I got on facebook to see my cousins posting on my mom's wall asking about the fire in Herriman, which is where my parents live. The next day there were posts about them being evacuated. I had a little bit of a rough time waiting for news (the internet being my only form of communication) about if my family was safe and if I still had a house. Finally I got the response that they were safe, they had to be evacuated but on sunday morning they were allowed back home. This picture was posted a little while later. The circled house is the one my parents live in. The fire came up to our backyard and then stopped. We are so blessed.